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The eighteen-year-old is in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waits at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, with his friend Duwayne Brooks.

The day after the murder, a letter giving the name of the suspects is left in a telephone box. Police surveillance begins on their homes four days later.

Stephen's family hold a press conference to complain not enough is being done to catch the killers. They meet Nelson Mandela two days later.

Police arrest brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, David Norris, Gary Dobson and Luke Knight and search their homes. Neil Acourt and Luke Knight are identified by Duwayne Brooks at ID parades as part of the gang responsible and the pair are charged with murder. They deny the charges.

The CPS drops the prosecution as it says the ID evidence from Brooks is unreliable.

The Southwark coroner, Sir Montague Levine, halts an inquest into Stephen's death after the family's barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, says there is "dramatic" new evidence.

There is insufficient evidence to bring charges based on the new evidence, it says, which was believed to be the identification of further suspects.

Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, launch a private prosecution against Gary Dobson, Luke Knight and Neil Acourt. All three deny the charges. A private prosecution is the same as a standard criminal trial but not brought by the CPS.

Covert video shot over several days in Dobson's flat captures him and Norris using . Neil Acourt and Luke Knight are also caught on camera using violent and racist language.

The murder trial begins against Neil Acourt, Luke Knight and Gary Dobson at the Old Bailey. But the case collapses when Mr Justice Curtis rules that identification evidence from Brooks is inadmissible. All three are acquitted.

The inquest resumes and the five suspects refuse to answer questions. A verdict of unlawful killing "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths" is delivered by Sir Montague.

The Daily Mail newspaper uses its front page to name the five men it says killed Stephen Lawrence. It invites them to sue if it is wrong.

The Kent Constabulary launches its probe, which nine months later highlights "significant weaknesses, omissions and lost opportunities". But it says there is no evidence of racist conduct.

Home Secretary Jack Straw says there will be a judicial inquiry into the killing, and to identify lessons for police in dealing with racially-motivated crimes. It will be chaired by Sir William Macpherson, a retired High Court judge.

The five suspects are told to give evidence or face prosecution. In June, they appear and are by protesters as they leave, after being accused of being evasive.

The Lawrence family call on the Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon He to them when he appears in October, admitting there had been failures.

It accuses the Metropolitan Police of and makes 70 recommendations, many aimed at improving police attitudes to racism. It also includes some proposals for changes in the law, including strengthening the Race Relations Act to try to clamp down on discrimination.

Norris and former suspect Neil Acourt are for a racist attack on an off-duty police officer in Eltham in 2001. Norris, a passenger in a car driven by Acourt, threw a drink and shouted racist abuse at the black officer.

The CPS finally announces there is anyone for Stephen's murder following a review.

Government which prevents suspects being tried twice for the same crime.

A ´óÏó´«Ã½ documentary investigating the case raises fresh questions about the prime suspects, prompting the Metropolitan Police to review their evidence. In October 2007, the Independent Police Complaints Commission says it has found no evidence of wrong-doing by an officer as alleged in part of the documentary.

Police confirm they are investigating in the case after a police review, staffed by 32 officers, was launched the previous summer. It examined evidence gathered at the time, looking at opportunities to use new technology to find leads.

Doreen Lawrence opens a Two weeks later vandals smash its windows in a suspected racist attack.

Ten years on from the Macpherson inquiry, a report from a member of its panel, Dr Richard Stone, says the police have made significant progress in reforming but charges of racism remain. Justice Secretary Jack Straw says the Met is but Stephen's mother says

Gary Dobson starts a for supplying a class B drug after being caught during a sting by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).

Gary Dobson and David Norris are to face trial over the murder of Stephen Lawrence following a review of forensic evidence. The Court of Appeal decides there is enough to allow Dobson's acquittal to be quashed. The pair had been charged the previous September.

The trial of Dobson and Norris begins at the Old Bailey. The jury hears that was found on the defendants' clothes.

Dobson and Norris are both found guilty of murder at the end of a six-week trial into the death of Stephen Lawrence. During the trial, the court heard that microscopic evidence found on clothing belonging to the accused linked them to the murder. The jury took two-and-a-half days to reach its decision. Both men received life sentences; Dobson was jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months, Norris for 14 years and three months.